The embodiments disclosed herein relate to a device for strengthening muscles associated with a person's jaw.
Accidents may cause damage to a person's jaw. These accidents may occur during sports play, automobile accidents, etc. For example, a mixed martial art fighter may be punched or kicked in the jaw which could shatter the person's jaw. In this event, surgery and extensive physical therapy may be necessary in order to rehabilitate the jaw and the muscles associated with the jaw. Unfortunately, current devices for rehabilitating the jaw have certain deficiencies.
In particular, prior art devices typically have upper and lower mouthpieces that are spring loaded. The upper and lower mouth pieces of these devices have a defined path of travel. The defined path of travel may be an arc about a fixed pivot point or linear within a track. Unfortunately, these devices do not follow the natural movement of the jaw which may be non-circular and non-linear. Rather, the jaw movement must follow the defined path of the upper and lower mouth pieces of the prior art device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,851,865 and 1,714,029 disclose prior art jaw exercising devices. Each of these devices have upper and lower mouth pieces which pivot relative to each other at a fixed pivot point. The upper and lower mouth pieces are held together by a leaf spring which provides resistance so that a person can bite down on the upper and lower mouth pieces to work the muscles of the jaw. Nonetheless, the upper and lower mouth pieces can only pivot about the pivot point defined by the leaf spring. The travel path of the upper and lower mouth pieces is fixed by the pivot point.
The device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,439 also has a defined travel path. In this case, the defined travel path is linear. The upper and lower mouth pieces are displaceable only along the guide bars.
A person's jaw does not pivot normally about a fixed pivot point. Moreover, the jaw of the person does not open and close in a linear fashion. Rather, the jaw movement of a person may be quite complex with forward to back movement and side to side movement.
These devices also extend out of the person's mouth and are aesthetically obtrusion or displeasing to look at. They are quite noticeable when the injured person is exercising his/her jaw muscles. As a result, the person may be less likely to work out his/her jaw muscles due to being self conscious.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved device.